Boosting reading comprehension is a top priority for all teachers. Whether your students are studying fiction or reading nonfiction texts and articles, being able to identify main ideas, supporting details, and other elements in a text are foundational skills critical to student success inside and outside the classroom.
When it comes to nonfiction, it’s important for students to be able to summarize main ideas in their own words and draw conclusions using evidence from the text. Graphic organizers are an effective tool to help students analyze texts, identify important details, and understand the author’s purpose. They also help students write strong, engaging responses to what they’ve read. When students are able interact with the text and focus on these elements, reading comprehension improves!
Graphic organizers not only make nonfiction texts easier to understand, they also make independent reading and writing more fun! Wondering which graphic organizers will best help your students develop the skills they need to better comprehend nonfiction? These 10 graphic organizers have everything your students need to deepen reading comprehension of nonfiction books and articles they read every day:
For students in grades PreK–8
1. Graphic Organizer: What's the Main Idea?
For students in grades K–2
2. Five-Finger Facts: Reading Response Organizer
3. Blast Off With Nonfiction!: Reading Response Graphic Organizer
4. Nonfiction Notepads: Reading Response Graphic Organizer
5. Nonfiction News Graphic Organizer
For students in grades 1–3
6. Using My Own Words: Reading Response Bookmark & Graphic Organizer
For students in grades 2–4
For students in grades 3–4
8. Summary Boxes: Independent Reading Learning Center
For students in grades 3–6
9. What Are the Important Ideas?: Nonfiction Read-Alouds
10. Reading Graphic Organizer: Main Event Bridge
To learn more about graphic organizers and gain access to thousands of printable and downloadable teacher resources that will help your students better comprehend nonfiction text (and instill a life-long love of reading), log in or subscribe to Scholastic Teachables today!